NY to keep Medicaid benefits for young immigrants

New York will continue to provide Medicaid benefits to people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children - no matter what officials in Washington do with the program that protected them from deportation.

Posted: Jan 25, 2018 4:33 PM

Posted By: The Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York will continue to provide Medicaid benefits to people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children - no matter what officials in Washington do with the program that protected them from deportation.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program created by former President Barack Obama protected certain immigrants from deportation.

But President Donald Trump decided to stop DACA. What happens to those in the program is now under discussion in Washington.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that New York won't stand by while some 42,000 state residents impacted by DACA lose health care.

Cuomo also supports extending state college financial aid programs to students without legal status. He has supported that initiative, called the Dream Act, for years. There's strong opposition in the Republican-led state Senate.

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